Wandering Tune
by Jonaesza
Summary: After Nodame's first debut with Maestro Stresemann, she is at a crossroad once again. But before anything else, she needs to address the problem at hand, she lost her belongings including her passport and most of her money. What will happen to her now?


**I DO NOT OWN NODAME CANTABILE or the Paris Hen or the Finale... **I love it though. It inspires me.

Chapter I: A Lost Soul

It's almost midnight now. People are sleeping soundly in their beds. Yet this solemnity of the night is being disturbed by the noises coming from a distant basement. Half buried in the grounds and half seen by the moonlit of the moon. This small basement is still open for customers looking for fun or for solitude or for a place to stay a bit. Just like a young brunette drinking the life away together with problems.

"Hic...ugh… "

Another glass of a beer was emptied. _'My head hurts from all of these drinks… and I feel like puking…'_

"Another round of beer, young miss?" the old man suggest while cleaning a newly washed glass. "…or do we have enough? It is past midnight and I think it is time for you to go home and rest. You never know the road at night. It's dangerous." The old man looks at the open door of the bar then to the girl in front of him who is totally wasted obviously. He then tapped the shoulder of the girl. "Hey, you have been drinking all night long. Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "You didn't even talk unless asking for another round of beer."

"I'm fine, old man." The brunette girl said softly. The girl turned her back from the bartender and looked at the rest of the customers.

The old man was shock a bit from the words of the young girl. _'She knows how to speak in Egyptian. I thought I could only speak with her in English.'_ As the brunette looks at the customers, the old man somewhat relaxes with her. "I thought you only speak in English. I have a lot of them drinking in here."

The brunette didn't bother to answer the old man's comment. _'Indeed, Nodame could only speak in English but thanks to the group of foreigners that brought a translator a while ago. I pick up the way to speak in their language. It's was interesting.'_ She giggled a bit but abruptly stops because she feels like all those liquids will come out.

"The toilet is at the back. I don't want to clean up a mess in the middle of the night." The old man is pointing the small hallway in the corner of the room. "That's what you get from laughing at me." he added.

"Gomen…" feeling apologetic about her actions. "…but it is not about you really…" The brunette slowly faces the old man.

"You're full of surprise young miss!" Laughing out loud from the behaviour of the brunette. "So you're a Japanese, no wonder you're young. How old are you?" He pours some hot coffee and gave it to the brunette. "It's on the house."

"Thank you, old man. You're a lifesaver." She warmed her hands from the heat of the coffee cup. "Nodame is lucky enough to pay for all the beer is ordered" she smiled a bit. "Hey, old man. I'm out of money and I'm feeling sick from all the booze I've drunk then you just gave me a cup of hot coffee of hope. I'm really thankful." She shows a big smile and suddenly stood up. "Let me show my deep appreciation, old man." As she is preparing to perform a dogeza to show her gratitude, she slipped and fell from her seat.

"Hey!" the old man rushes to her side.

The customers who are noisily talking with each other stopped and wondered what happened. One of the customer walk up to the scene and sheepishly said "Grampa, if she is out, I could take care of her." It earned a number of laughs from the others. From the corner of the room, a man in mid-thirties commented "You just want to get laid badly, don't you, young man?" The small room immediately quieted down. The young man loses his temper and literally run and attacks the older man at the corner of the room. Instantaneously, a fight occurred, cheering and betting who is going to win the fight. The young girl and the old man were forgotten.

The owner, the old man, sighed. _'Men these days are pain in the ass. I'd better bring you away from them as fast as I can.'_ He carried the wasted girl to a small room which seems like a stockroom. _'You rest here for a while, young miss. I still need to manage the bar, right? Your name is Nodame, right?'_ He lay down the brunette in a small bed inside the stock room.

"Chiaki sempai… " she murmured and cried quietly in her sleep.

The old man sadly looks at the brunette. "You have a rough day, I bet. Why don't you rest for a bit, Nodame?" The old man slowly closed the door and walked up to the brawling customer.

_"Will you marry me Chiaki sempai?"_

_'You return to the place you love very much. You are working on your dreams one by one and achieving it with great prowess. You are climbing the stairs of success with less difficulty now. You are experiencing a lot of things without Nodame by your side but you won't leave me right, sempai? You brought out the joy of playing the piano properly in Nodame so please don't leave me, sempai. You brought me in this wonderful place you love. Nodame is starting to learn why you love this place and environment although you are not with me always. You will be forever in my side, right? Why don't you answer me already? Nodame is not afraid whatever your answer is. Nodame is strong now sempai.'_

_"Baka, wake up before you speak…" Chiaki took it up as a joke and advised her to lock up the room as he will travel back to Italy to study about opera from Maestro Vierra._

_'Sempai…? Why…?' _

_Nodame's surrounding became pitch black. Unknowingly, she is being swallowed up by the darkness of her heart._

_'I only wish to be with you but why, sempai? Don't you need, Nodame anymore? Are you throwing me away, Shinichi?!'_

_Nodame is crying her heart out. She wants to run but she doesn't know where to go to. She don't know what to do anymore. She doesn't want to do anything anymore. She wants to rot away, to fade away or to disappear totally._

_'Noooooooooooooooooooo! I don't like any of these anymore!'_

_She hugged her body as if she is trying to protect it from unknown force. The darkness finally enveloped her entirely._

Nodame opened her eyes and looked at the plain old ceiling of the can't see it properly thus she tried rubbing her eyes out of the dirt or whatever that is blurring her vision. Her fingers trace the tears forming from her eyes. 'I'm crying again.' she sighed and put both of her hands over her eyes to cover it up.

"I want to forget everything. Everything… nothing matters anymore to me…"

As she falls asleep with tears rolling down her face, she murmured for the last time, "...nothing matters..."

Hope you like it. Though, it is for my own entertainment...


End file.
